How Learning Could Have Enabled Comet to Improve Performance - Essay Example

? REFLECTIVE MANAGER goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] How Learning Could Have Enabled Comet to Improve Performance? In order to discuss how learning can improve the performance, flexibility, strategic agility of Comet and its relationship to reflection and reflective practices, let us get a better understanding of what learning actually is. As Aul (2008) states, “learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skill through education and experience”. It is an ongoing process that brings positive changes in the behaviors and capabilities of a person. In organizational settings, it is related directly with employee development which is the key for an employee to gain success in his/her professional career. As Wiesen (2011) states, “the purpose of employee development is for workers at a company to learn skills that they can use within the workplace”. Learning is considered a key phase in the employee development process which not only improves the performance of employees but also makes them able to overcome global competition challenges successfully. Learning in organizations holds an important place because of a large number of associated benefits. Learning is basically related to the improvement in skills, abilities, and knowledge of employees through training, coaching, and direct observation. Managers and employees all benefit from the reflective process of learning. The first stage of the reflective process is awareness which leads to the critical analysis. The critical analysis plays the role of a link between past experiences and the future. The last step of the reflective learning process is learning which helps managers and employees in improving their skills, abilities, and job performances. Learning through coaching can help Comet in many ways. As Chakravarthy (2011) states, “the coach has to help the person learn the requisite attitude, behavior and skills needed to perform the job successfully”. Some of the main benefits that learning can bring to Comet include improved company’s performance, improved ability to take key strategic decisions, improved strategic agility, improved employees’ skills and abilities, improved productivity, and improved working relationships between employees and managers. The importance of learning in organizations cannot be denied in today’s world of ongoing competition. If we talk about the levels of reflection from learning perspective, we can say that at the lowest level, learning is task-specific and usually helps in problem-solving, whereas the highest level of the reflective process of learning helps managers and employees in overcoming challenges underlying attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions. Learning helps employees grasp more knowledge about the way they should perform their job responsibilities, as well as help them grow in their professional careers. Learning also helps managers in managing their entire job related activities and responsibilities in an effective manner (Peter 2012). Some of the main learning methods that can use to achieve the goals of improved organizational performance and strategic agility include on the job training, off the job training, small group discussions, and cross training. On-The-Job learning plays a vital role in boosting the learning process for employees and managers. This method focuses on improving employee efficiency using the approach of activity-based learning. Use of direct learning and temporary work rotations help managers in dealing with changing scenarios in an effective manner. Another thing which goes side by side with learning is the need to increase the level of confidence of people. Learning brings in the required level on confidence in people which is critical for increasing job productivity and performance. “Organizational learning allows for teams to learn exactly what is relevant to their specific tasks and specialties” (Silberman 2013). Along with increasing confidence of managers and employees, on-the-job learning also helps them in reducing job related mistakes which leads to improved job performances. Such approach is very successful because improvement through on-the-job learning lasts for the whole career of a professional. For example, when an employee learns some skills while performing his/her job activities, those skills become a permanent part of the skill set of that employee. Those skills and other learned knowledge also help employees and managers in taking critical business decisions. Similarly, learning also helps managers in dealing with complex business matters and in improving their strategic agility. Off-The-Job learning method also helps in improving job related skills and abilities using self-created working conditions. The main factors that play their role improving the performances of employees and managers using this mode of learning include seminars, workshops, and conferences. Learning is a key factor in success of organizations competing in today’s rapidly changing business world (Jones 2010). It can also occur through small group discussions method in which employees are put into small groups and then relevant case studies are provided to them to work on. All group members share their views on the case study which not only results in increasing their knowledge about their professional fields but also improves their level of interpersonal communication. Managers can also implement a collective and sociologically dynamic learning and information acquisition environment to promote learning at the workplace (Goldberg 2013). Similarly, training can also play a valuable role in organizational learning process. As Testa (n.d.) states, “employee training generally refers to programs that provide workers with information, new skills, or professional development opportunities”. Learning can also occur through cross training in which employees are given more than one job tasks at a time which results in improving their confidence, as well as the ability to deal with more than one situation at a time. This approach also helps in improving the decision-making skills of employees and managers as they get a chance to apply learned knowledge and skills in solving complex issues. According to Fiol and Lyles (1985), organizational learning occurs as the result of personal and professional needs. For example, employees learn to achieve success when they are motivated to do so to get some rewards. Jerome Burner, a cognitive psychologist, seems to support this point as he believes that learning occurs when mental processes give rise to the need to learn something. Learning is also related to the way changes in behaviors occur when they pass from different phases of life. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs supports this point as in that theory, he points out five basic levels of needs in which a person’s learning needs changes with the changes that occur in needs. Summing it up, learning injects perfection in the actions of a person. Learning is beneficial emotionally, physically, financially, as well as socially (Rhiannon 2013). In organizational settings, learning starts from the first day of the life of a person and continues till the last day. It is difficult for a person to achieve anything in professional life without having a desire to learn new skills and knowledge regarding his/her respective professional field. Therefore, I would say that learning is one of the main factors that could have enabled Comet to improve performance, strategic agility, and its relationship to reflection and reflective practices. References Aul, K 2008, The Importance of Learning, viewed 10 April 2013, Chakravarthy, P 2011, The difference between coaching and mentoring, viewed 10 April 2013, Fiol, C & Lyles, M 1985, ‘Organizational Learning’, The Academy of Management Review, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 803-813. Goldberg, K 2013, The Importance of Organizational learning to Company Success, viewed 10 April 2013, Jones, P 2010, In House Employee Training Programs, viewed 10 April 2013, Peter A 2012, ‘The importance of organizational learning for organizational sustainability’, The Learning Organization, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 4 – 10. Rhoannon, L 2013, The Importance of Learning, viewed 10 April 2013, Silberman, J 2013, The Importance of Organizational learning to Company Flexibility and Adaptation, viewed 10 April 2013, Testa, K n.d., What Is Employee Training?. viewed 10 April 2013, Wiesen, G 2011, What Is Employee Development?, viewed 10 April 2013, Read More